All that is the universe may never be fully understood. That neither lessens the ambition to explore nor minimizes the importance of each discovery made in the quest for answers.

One such discovery is the existence of other dimensions. No one has yet to report just how many there are, and if they have, it has not been confirmed. One thing that is known is that all the dimensions feed to and through on particular point and it is called the Astral Realm. One particular example that is often used is the following: imagine a very tall brick wall. If each brick is its own dimension, then the Astral Realm is the mortar used to hold the brick together.

To get a visual image of how the Astral Realm is constructed, imagine a cube made up of smaller cubes, 27 sectors in all, and the only sector that touches upon all of the others is the center, the fourteenth cube, called Centren [SIN-tren]. Somewhere in Centren, as it has been said (and not yet disproved and recorded), one can find portal-ways to any dimension. But before we go any further with this, letís cover some ground rules.

There are a few laws of the Astral Realm that have been confirmed (even though they may not yet be known by our Traveler):

1. The sky in the Astral Realm is white and the stars appear to be black, though they can be of just about any color (it should be noted that yellow stars in the Astral Realm are very rare, and none can be found in Centren).

2. A life-form cannot die from exposure to the Astral Realm. A non-life-form, however, is taking its chances, as there are no known hard and fast rules regarding them.

3. Dimensional apertures can be created in Centren to go to any dimension.

There isnít an Energy in existence that doesnít have at least one nexus in the Centren Sector. MannA, for instance, has three, though only one is openly accessible. As of the date of this record, ThoughtWill had two in Centren. As such, it comes as no surprise that some of the best research and training facilities can be found in this sector.
Of course, with portal-ways connected to the dimensions, there are many intelligent forms of life to be found in the Astral Realm, not counting those indigenous to the realm. Terrans are extremely plentiful in the Rims, but in the Astral Realm the slightly more than ten billion souls make up just over 7% of the population in Centren! The population of the other sectors is information which is not available to this database at this time.

Aside from the study of the Energies, the technology found in the Astral Realm is also the culmination of many races, and therefore never less than leading edge. There is one race of beings indigenous to the Astral Realm that is perhaps the most gifted when it comes to the development and improving of technology. They are called Meacruhn [MEEK-rune] and they are shorter than the average biped humanoid, but they have incredibly long life spans and are gifted at tinkering. It is not uncommon to find a less than average technician from that race as a master of at least three sciences. As super-intelligent creatures, they are almost often alone, isolating themselves from even their own kind.

Charged with the task of keeping order of Centren are the Xorliams. Form-changing humanoids, it is not known what they look like when they are born, where their homeworld can be found, or what the limits of their abilities are. In tune with the Energy flow of the Astral Realm, a Xorliam can speak the language of any life-form that is currently in the Astral Realm. The only reason it is known that they exist is because of the Meacruhn who created a device that can actually scan for their biological signs. Once the device was made and demonstrated that it actually worked, the Xorliam that were the Meacruhnís assistants revealed themselves and whisked the scientist off to a meeting of the Xorliams. The scientist was promoted to Master Technician and given the materials to build his own planet.

Above the Xorliams, and the true ministers of the Astral Realms, are the Astral Worms. Much like the Xorliams, they have not been seen, only suggested as actually existing. Given that the source of the suggestion was the Master Technician, it is difficult to discount the notion as only rumor. While there are no exact details, the Meacruhn did report that the Astral Worm was larger than a Meacruhn Battle Cruiser. Such a ship requires 225,000 Terran-sized crew members.